Waiheke Local Board has been far luckier than most. Relative to other boards it has had much money at its discretion to spend as it sees fit. In broad brush terms it has had around $5 million over its three year term to make a difference to the future wellbeing of the local community. This consists of $3million in capital and operational expenditure, $600,000 from the Auckland Transport Capital Fund and fully funded legacy projects of $1.4million handed over by the first Waiheke local Board.

What has the community to show for so much of its money?

There were extravagant promises made such as building a new community pool and more pensioner housing. Certainly $5 million would have gone a long way towards bringing those promises to fruition, but in reality the Board has not only failed to deliver but, far worse, it has ensured there will be no community pool in the foreseeable future, no new pensioner housing, and no legacy projects for the next Board.

The only addition to the island’s infrastructure has been Walden’s Folly, the $300,000 bridle bridge to nowhere blighting the beauty spot in one of our most significant wetlands. It is built slap in the middle of a Site of Ecological Significance, is unsightly and unloved. It was Walden’s own personal vanity project for his horses.

Where has all the money gone?

It has been spent largely on paying the Board’s crony groups for their support. The biggest recipient is the Board’s mentor John Stansfield and his wife the local left wing Green Party MP. Over $500,000 has gone into their Waiheke Resources Trust. Once the money has gone into Trusts all accountability and transparency is lost. A further $500,000 has gone to support other crony groups. $400,000 was handed to the Waiheke Boat Club to clean up the mess it has made on Council Reserve on the Causeway. This was over a year eighteen months ago and the work remains on-going. No progress reports have been on the Board agenda and once again there has been no visibility of the accounts to see how their money is being spent. The remaining $1.3 million has been frittered away in junkets, plans, and more largesse to its friends. All this has been well documented throughout the last three years on my daily blogs without which the island would know nothing.

Lasting damage

The greatest damage done by the Board has been to rob future boards of funding. Its first act in office was to stop all the $1.4 million of legacy projects handed to it on a platter by the first Board. This money went back into Council coffers never to be seen again. The Governing Body, responsible for allocating money to boards, took this as a sign that Waiheke was getting far too much, especially when every other board was crying out for cash. Subsequently, the Governing Body cut the board’s long term budget by more than half resulting in a loss of over $6 million.

Responsibility for this monumental failure to nurture the future of Waiheke lies with ALL Board members. They have block voted 99.9% of the time. Only once in three years has a Board member voted against another and for her pains Shirin Brown was stabbed in the back and removed as Deputy Chair. Since then she has not dared to rebel and so has demonstrated she has no mettle. At present she is trying to distance herself from this failed the failed Essentially Waiheke Team of Walden, Treadwell, Ballard and Meeuwsen, but do not be fooled. Brown has let the community down monumentally. She is unfit for office every bit as much as the others.

The only way back for Waiheke is to elect independent candidates who have experience and wisdom. Only then can Waiheke have a future that meets the demands of a growing population and thriving local economy with local jobs.I have every confidence such candidates will emerge so that ratepayers and residents have real choice in this election.

Waitakere same issue, but possibly further advanced. Our version of these Trusts had "partnership contracts" under waitakere based on trust and shared values. (Over $1million per annum to the main eco trust) of which the board and political assistants are the trustees, mainly they educate you via events, environmental events and doorknocking. I asked under OIA for two of these trusts contracts. The portions of the contracts I received were for over $200k each but the interesting clause was : council will supply the plants, planting plans, design and environmental expertise, onsite assistance at planting days, weedcontrol services, assistance with managment planting, education and promotional material, health and safety plans, and other advice guidance and resources as agreed. So it's a pretty sweet contract with council appears to provide the lions share of the resources while the trusts appear to be providing a service. You are bang on when the money is in the trust then it is outside the public eye. I'd like more transparency about what's being achieved and to see more of the money reaching the people paying people doing environmental work in our communities not filtered in a non-transparent way through trusts.

Reply

Roger Hutton

9/8/2016 11:09:18 am

Meeuwsen can't stand on anything more than his time spent fronting Our Waiheke. Anyone reading between the lines can tell this enterprise is a dead duck doomed to failure! Meeuwsen has nothing more to offer.
He's shown himself to be a one-trick pony that needs to be put out to pasture.

Reply

WaRT

2/9/2016 02:47:03 am

Funny co incidence Dawn Jefferies who was managing the WRT has resigned Just before the Election voting starts . I wonder if the man who Pulls the Strings may have made some special Demands ? Could You Please pull some Money out of the kitty to donate back to the ruling party in order to keep them in power so we get More Money after the election? No that would not happen would it ? surely not ? not quite right ? or we now need to put our effort in to helping the WV party Win again to keep this hungry Beast fed .So get on those Laptops and spread the word ..Maybe open after hours For quiet meetings holding a Free Pizza night at The Local Board rooms on Friday .. hosted by the Christian surfing School Pool advocate , who is on the School Gym oops community gym group ..Beattle Tracey.. has chosen T Weston..of the same youth voice group to join her at the board rooms to find out what they want for waiheke ..but then if you want any of that you will have to ask your parents to vote for our wv team....nasty web they weave...